Meet Carol

“I was low on confidence and didn’t know where to find the support I needed. The Love London Working project has been great and the support I’ve received has been brilliant.”

A “whole new world of opportunity” has been opened up to Carol Olushoga since she joined the Love London Working programme. Life had been “very hard” for Carol beforehand; she felt low about her career prospects, was claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and struggling to find work. She found support through her housing association, AmicusHorizon, who signed her up to the Love London Working programme and set her on the right track to employment

Carol said:

“I was low on confidence and didn’t know where to find the support I needed. The Love London Working project has been great and the support I’ve received has been brilliant.”

Carol was given one-to-one support to work out the career path she wanted to take, and her confidence started to build as she saw light at the end of the tunnel. With a clearer picture of what Carol wanted to achieve, staff on the Love London Programme spoke to different employers.

Her advisor has been working with HATS (Healthcare and Transport Services) – one of the UK’s leading specialist transport service providers – who had a job opportunity as a Passenger Assistant. The Love London Working team thought this was the ideal position for Carol and arranged and prepared her for an interview.

Carol’s enthusiasm impressed HATS so much that they immediately agreed to enrol her on their Safer Recruitment Programme! She’s now responsible for the safe transit, to and from school, of young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

One parent said:

“Carol escorted my son to school and I have found her to be polite, presentable and also caring towards my son who was very comfortable with her.”

Carol added:

“I’d always wanted to work in the care sector, but never explored working with children and didn’t even know these jobs existed until I started working with Love London Working.

I’m feeling very positive about the future. It’s been a great year so far for me and hopefully it will continue. I’m grateful to AmicusHorizon. It’s fantastic to see they provide their residents with employment support to help them through hard times.

And thank you to HATS, who are a great organisation. They’ve made me feel at ease and provided me with brilliant training.”